Cyclist hit on Deer Creek Canyon this morning

"Today's ride was anything but fun. Around 9:00AM our morning group ride was heading up S. Deer Creek Canyon Rd when a motorist pulled up behind us and began to honk his horn incessantly. Then he sped up and rammed into one the cyclists smashing his bicycle and dragging him under the car. The man got out of his car, started swearing to no one in particular and then took the bicycle and threw it off the road. Notice the man's face as he doesn't have a care in the world. Not once did he apologize or seem to show any remorse."

"This accident had the potential to be very, very bad -even life threatening, the way Byron's bike was sucked up into the front wheel of the truck -we are so grateful it wasn't worse than it was. We are also very grateful to the first responders for their prompt action in getting him to the ER, and to the Colorado State Patrol for responding to the scene and investigating and appropriately citing the driver. I'd also like to commend the cyclists on scene for their self restraint. I'm sure it wasn't easy to remain calm and collected with the driver standing there, but Byron's teammates did the right thing by taking photographs of everything and by remaining calm. Inciting an altercation would not have helped Byron or his case and would only have served to further increase tensions among residents/motorists in Deer Creek Canyon and cyclists who ride there."

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110 Comments

Well I've seen a lot of cartoons (and I mean a lot), and I know for a fact when someone is run over by a car, the tire tracks are clearly visible on their body along with a perfectly shaped divot on their torso.

If Mr Nix had really been hit by the car, that picture should show 10 inches of his body that is less than a millimeter thick.

Clearly Mr Nix was trying to ride a wheelie down the center of the road, when his extreme body weight caused the massive failure of his rear rim. Then, the rest of those hippies on Groove Subaru decided to go play hackey sack.

The problem is that both motorists and cyclists see themselves as "victims" (eerily similar to political parties). As both a motorist AND a cyclist I see both sides of the story...as a matter of fact I was almost the victim of BOTH a motorist and cyclists this spring. We were riding single file coming out of the southeast entrance of Chatfield, when we saw a huge group of riders on the other side of the road, must have been riding 5 wide (at least 40 riders). The guys in front of me slowed down so I popped out to go to the front, to my surprise there in front of me about 5 meters ahead was a pretty little red sports car coming straight toward me. Immediately I pop back in, but of course my mate had also popped out so we were precariously balanced on each other, he on my rear wheel, me on his front...we needed about 20 minutes to get our heart rates down. The moral of the story...one group of jack asses caused another jack ass to be a jack ass, which almost caused a guy with a child to die unnecessarily...neither of the offending parties stopped to see if we were okay...the motorist, happy to have muscled his way past us and the "peloton" happy to have flexed its road hogging ways...I rarely ride outside these days and when I do it is on a trail and always alone...be safe and be kind...there are always outliers who will harass and make cyclists and motorists look bad...

I have generally stopped riding in Deer Creek Canyon as so many riders do not ride single file and or they ride in packs and take up half of the road. Wasn't there on Sunday so I cannot speak to what actually transpired but I do know I have been swept by car's side mirrors when following the rules in the canyon. From my experience these events will continue until riders decide to follow the laws many of us fought for to protect us from cars and to protect the less respectful cyclists. And remember, many of the fine folks who live up there don't like people and especially those of us who wear lycra! So for those of you who continue to not follow the rules of the road, feel lucky to be alive and hope you are not next.

Would like to hear from some of the guys who were on the ride, if you read what the driver is now telling 7 news, it is all the riders fault. Hope they make a call to 7 news and report their side of things.

I ride this canyon regularly and despite being as far over to the right as possible, I get "buzzed" by at least one driver each time that refuses to move over the center line and give me 3 feet of space.

There are as many bad drivers who give their peers a bad reputation, just as there are bad riders who feel they can ride down the center of the lane.

" despite being as far over to the right as possible, I get "buzzed" by at least one driver each time that refuses to move over the center line and give me 3 feet of space."

If the lane is not wide enough for cars to pass you within the lane without crossing the center line, then I suggest you stop inviting them to squeeze into the lane with you.

Try riding in the center of the lane. That way they''ll notice you sooner, and will realize much sooner that they can't squeeze in next to you, and have to cross the center line. Give them the time to realize this, and they can plan for it better.

Even if there were an entire pack of cyclists climbing the hill taking up the entire lane it would not be legal for a driver to decide to just ram them out of the way. As frustrating as it may be to get around such a situation attempted murder is usually not the best solution.

you can plainly see from the photo that this was no blind corner, and the rider was next to the white line. all debris is next to the shoulder too, see the yellow pieces in road from the truck's light. and the water bottle squirts are next to the white line too. there is no rider between him and the white line either. the law is the law. cyclists have a right to the road despite anybody's opinion. the driver was completely at fault.

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